First Marine Co-Ed Boot Camp Company Graduates at Parris Island

The Marine Corps' first-ever mixed-gender training battalion graduated from boot camp March 29, and it could serve as a model for more co-ed training companies moving forward.

Fifty new female Marines completed their training with the typically all-male 3rd Recruit Training Battalion at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina. Having women train alongside men for the past 13 weeks was historic for the Marine Corps — the only military service that still separates male and female enlisted recruits during entry-level training. The new Marines trained with 3rd Recruit Training Battalion's India Company, which included the female platoon and five male platoons. The recruits lived in different squad bays but otherwise completed much of their training together. Read more about the first company on Military.com.